Here's one fascinating Stratocaster from the late 1970s! Funky riffs and anthemic rock choruses start playing in your head even if you just look at this guitar. Can you hear them?
 
Vintage guitar market is going bananas lately, so normal players like you and me turn their gazes onto the 1970s Fenders - these are still affordable and come with bags of mojo (and extra cool big headstocks), your gateway to the world of vintage Fenders.
 
According to the neck stamp, this Stratocaster was born on Tuesday March 7th 1978 (3rd day of the 10th week of 1978). Unique and striking Mocha Brown Walnut finish was a custom option meant for those who wanted their Strat to stand out amongst all the sunburst and black ones. The finish has wear patch on the treble horn, some minor dings here and there, as well as some expected surface scratches, "bucklerash" and patina. Somehow it managed to survive unmodified for 47 years, unlike so many 1970s Fenders, that were repainted, chopped up inside for humbuckers and etc.
 
The only non-original parts on this guitar are one tone pot (replaced with a new CTS USA A250K "dimple pot"), 5-way switch (replaced with Oak USA; original switch comes with the guitar but it has very tired contacts), tremolo arm (comes with a custom bent chrome arm) and control knobs (look like the ones from 1980s).
 
This specific swamp ash body was clearly chosen on a good day at the factory for it's beautiful wood grain and also for it's moderate weight: the whole guitar is only 3.6 kg, which is average for a modern Strat but quite light for a 1970s Strat that usually tip the scales at around 4.2-4.5 kg. The natural body resonance is stunning. No strucutral modifications mean that the internal cavities still have SSS design and there are no extra pickguard holes.
 
Neck pocket retains then innovative micro-tilt neck heel adjuster. All three pickups are original and have date stamps of 1977 on their grey fibre bobbins. Flat pole magnet design allows to raise these closer to the strings for a nice bass and treble boost without the mid-range poking your ears out. Think The Edge and John Mayer.
 
The electronics have been refreshed with a new Oak USA 5-way switch and one new CTS A250K pot, the other two pots and that gorgeous-sounding ceramic disc capacitor are original. Volume and tone controls work smoothly and seem to be of the long-lasting variety. The original black pickguard is in good shape with no cracks and only a tiny bit of warping.
 
So many 1970s Strats are not everyone's cup of tea thanks to their super skinny and narrow necks. Thankfully, this is not the case here. The neck has a medium C backshape that is a real pleasure to play; it also comes with a much more playable 42 mm nut width. The wear on the neck is minimal, with only a few small dings. The nitrocellulose finish on the headstock yellowed quite a lot, making it look almost the same shade as the body - pretty cool, right? Fender kept using nitro finish on headstocks because poly melted their waterslide decals, hence many vintage 1970s guitars that have been exposed to UV a lot have yellowed headstocks.
 
Frets seem to be original and have some minor wear in the open positions, but these still play well and allow for decent action and bending without choking. The neck heel has the MicroTilt disc, all the correct factory markings. The neck pocket has a nice snug fit. Original F-style tuners work smoothly and can hold tuning really well even with a lot of trem action.
 
The tremolo bridge has the traditional 1970s design, where the bridge plate and the sustain block were cast in one piece. Chunky saddles are also typical and have their secret stamps on the back (027037). All intonation and action adjustment screw work flawlessly and the guitar will come supplied with an extra spring if you want to increase the tremolo tension.
 
This Stratocaster will come with a funky well-worn 1970s UK-made Chenney hardcase with purple interior. Other goodies include a vintage 1960s Selmer leather strap, 1970s Fender plectrum and a packet of Picanto strings from 1975.
 
This instrument received a full professional setup with deep body cleaning, body polish, neck deep clean, full electronics check, truss-rod and action and intonation adjustment. Restringed with D'addario 10-46 Nickel-plated steel strings.
 
This guitar will be shipped around UK with Parcelforce courier, safely packed into a sturdy guitar cardboard box. 24h courier service provided to UK customers. We also ship to USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and many other places, but at the moment we don't ship to EU or Northern Ireland.